Nightmares
by robertwnielsen
Summary: Sometimes, the odds work in your favor...and sometimes, they don't.
1. Chapter 1

_Nightmares_

Disclaimer – As usual, don't own 'em...but I sure wish I did, because I'd still play with them.

A/N – This story is based on NettieC's excellent JAG fic entitled _Too Late!_ With her permission, I've "Airwolf-ized" it, and I hope I've done the original justice – robertwnielsen

_Summary – _Sometimes, the odds work in your favor...and sometimes, they don't.

_Hawke advanced towards Caitlin, the expression in his eyes that of a madman. Cait dodged him expertly, and rammed the needle into his chest, all the while remembering what Archangel had told her—"It's supposed to, but don't _**use **_it unless you absolutely have to. The reported side effects include radical drops in body temperature, and convulsions...and in about a third of the tests..._**death.**" _But, she reasoned as she caught Hawke's body and lowered it to the floor of his room, 66% of the test subjects _**hadn't **_died. She watched his body as he went through a series of convulsions, then lay still._

"_Hawke? Hawke!" She shouted, shaking his limp body, but there was no response. "HAWKE?" Again, no response, even as she placed one ear directly over his heart, listening, straining to hear something..._**anything. **_She tried giving him CPR...much the same way she'd tried with her father when she was twelve years old, but still...nothing. Now, she was growing frantic. "NO! I THOUGHT IT'D HELP YOU! NO!" Her tears stained the front of his shirt as she shook his body, pounding on his chest...but it was no use._

Hawke was gone. The man that Dom and Cait had come to rescue had died...and _she'd _been the reason why. _If only I hadn't stabbed you with that damned needle, Hawke..._Caitlin said to herself. _I coulda taken you in a fight, if it came to that. Sure, you woulda hated me for it...for a while...but at least...at least you'd still be alive __**to **__hate me. _She couldn't believe that she'd have to get herself, Dom, and...Hawke's body out of Horn's compound, without the ace pilot to assist them.

_No time like the present,_ she said to herself, pushing herself off Hawke's chest, where she'd laid her head after lowering him to the floor, and kissing his cheek tenderly. "I'll be back for you, Hawke. I _promise," _she whispered, then moved out into the hallway, headed for Dominic's cell.

Fortunately, there was no one guarding the cell when Caitlin approached it...and, even more luckily for her, the guard whose uniform she wore had a set of keys, one of which opened Dominic's cell.

"Who's that?" Dom demanded, looking at the guard but not recognizing his friend.

"Dom, it's me. Caitlin," she said, whipping off her ball cap to reveal her red hair, and Dominic noticeably relaxed.

"Cait...you made it in. How's String? Is he okay? Did...did the drug work?" Dom asked, but when he saw Caitlin hang her head, he knew what the answer would be.

"I'm sorry, Dom," she sobbed, and allowed the older man to embrace her. "He's...he's gone. We've gotta get outta here...are you okay to fly, do you think?"

"I'm...I'm okay, Cait," Dom replied, shaking his head to try to stop the tears, then saying, "But what are we gonna do about..."

"Hawke's body," Cait finished for him, and he nodded. "Don't worry about it, Dom. I've got an idea."

Cait's idea was simple—find a stretcher, and get Hawke out of there. She moved back out into the hallway after replacing her cap, and making sure that her hair was back underneath it, so she would not be recognized. As she continued down the hallway, she was again surprised at the minimum amount of staff personnel she encountered, but finally, she found what she was looking for—a stretcher, left near an elevator which Caitlin was relieved she wouldn't have to take. As she pushed the stretcher back to Hawke's room, Caitlin felt her feelings finally get the best of her, and she began to cry. She stopped at Dominic's room first, and the two of them embraced for a few moments as they remembered their friend. Finally, Dom said, "C'mon, Cait. We gotta get String outta here."

"You're right, Dom," Caitlin replied, gaining control of her emotions.

Fifteen minutes later, Caitlin and Dom pushed the stretcher, with Hawke's body on top, covered by a sheet, out of Hawke's room, meeting no resistance, much to the surprise of both Dom and Caitlin. Caitlin attributed the fact that no one stopped them to the hour, as it was nearly 0300, and most of the doctors and other staff were asleep. Surprisingly, they made it nearly to Airwolf with only minimal resistance, that being another guard walking the opposite way, but he paid Caitlin and Dom no mind, clearly focused on his assigned rounds, and didn't even notice the stretcher she was pushing. He gave them a curt nod, which Caitlin returned, and they were on their way. _Maybe Horn brainwashes his guards, too, _Cait thought to herself, surprised, yet disappointed that they weren't being forced to fight their way out. _I've got a good mind to..._she stopped, turned back to where the guard was continuing down the hallway, drew her sidearm, and pumped five rounds into his back, dropping him to the floor, all the while thinking, _That's for you, String. I only wish...I wish Horn and that bitch of a daughter of his were here...and that you were here with us._

"Caitlin! What the hell did you do that for?" Dom demanded, as alarms began buzzing along the hallway.

"I'm...I'm sorry, Dom," Caitlin replied as they began pushing the stretcher with increasing speed, Dom looking behind them for enemy troops. Horn's men made their move just before they got out to where Airwolf was parked, and a fierce firefight ensued. Fortunately for Caitlin and Dom, however, her training as a policewoman paid off, and they were able to fight their way to Airwolf. A few minutes later, they were back on board Airwolf, and preparing to leave.

"You ready, Dom?" Caitlin asked from the engineer's station, after placing Hawke's body in the co-pilot's chair.

"Yeah, Cait," Dom replied from the commander's chair, his voice surprisingly strong as he began Airwolf's startup sequence. "Let's get the hell out of here."

Once they were airborne, Dom said, "There's one thing I need to do before we go. Gimme guns and rockets, Cait."

"Got it," she responded, pressing the buttons to deploy Airwolf's weapons systems. "Guns and Hellfires ready, Dom."

"This is for you, String," Dom mumbled as he loosed a volley of Hellfires at the compound, obliterating it. He continued to pour weapons into the fireball, until he heard the click of the trigger against his hand.

"Dom," Cait said, "it's...it's done." Her words rang eerily familiar in Dom's ears...and he recalled saying the same thing to String, after String had tracked down and killed Airwolf's creator, Charles Henry Moffet, who had abducted, tortured, and murdered Hawke's lover, Gabrielle Ademaur.

_Dom watched missile after missile fly into the sand where Moffet's Jeep had been. Finally, Dom heard the click of the trigger, and his system readout told him there were no more missiles available to add to the fireball. "String," Dom called out, "it's done." String had reluctantly relaxed his grip on the firing trigger and flew Airwolf away from the carnage._

Dom relaxed his grip on the stick, much as he imagined Hawke had two years ago. "Thanks, Cait," Dom mumbled, then added, "Let's...let's go home." Dom banked Airwolf away from the fires of Horn's compound, fires that would, they both hoped, become funeral pyres for Horn and his daughter Angelica. Caitlin swallowed her anger at not being able to confront Horn's daughter personally, to pay her back for what she'd done to String. _And...what she made _**me **_do to String, _Cait said to herself. She blamed Angelica, even more than she blamed John Bradford Horn, for brainwashing Hawke, which led to Hawke's death. _I sure hope she's burnin' right now...and that she burns in hell for what she did. But...what if she got out? What if she and her father weren't even there? I swear, String...If I ever see that bitch...she'll...she'll be sorry she ever met me...or you,_ Caitlin vowed silently as the tears flowed under her helmet.

As they banked away from the carnage, Caitlin said, "Dom...I'm sorry about what happened back there. I just..."

"I know, Cait," Dom replied as he fought back tears. "I know."

The remainder of the flight home passed in silence, until they landed at Knightsbridge. Caitlin had sent a message to Archangel to notify him of Hawke's death, and Michael met them outside.

"Cait...Dom," Michael said as two men unloaded Hawke's body, "I'm so sorry. I..." His voice broke and he couldn't find the words to describe what he was feeling.

"Michael," Caitlin began, even as she choked back tears, "I understand. You warned us...warned **me** what the drugs could do to him. I just...I hoped that the odds were in my favor," she finished, just before breaking down in tears.

"Michael," Dom said, "the ship's all yours. I...I can't deal with this anymore. I can't...I can't fly Airwolf without String." He noticed Caitlin's expression, and in spite of everything, was able to force a smile, one which was quickly doused at Dom's next thought. _She's leavin',_ Dom said to himself wearily. _At least, I think she is. She'll be goin' home to Texas pretty quick...now that there's nothin' left here for her._ Dom had grown to love Caitlin like she was his own daughter, and it hurt him to think that she would never have the chance for happiness with String, like Dom had always hoped she would.

"I understand, Dom," Michael said. "I can have Laura fly you and Cait back to Santini Air when we're finished."

"Michael, there's one other thing," Dom said, "when the autopsy is over...I want..."

"I understand, Dom," Michael said, nodding. He knew Dom wanted to take Hawke's body back to the cabin, to bury on his family's land. "I'll take care of it."

"Thank you. I know we've had our differences in the past...but...you're a good man, Michael."

Michael was dumbstruck. "Thank you, Dominic." _I just wish it hadn't taken Hawke's death to get us to mend fences, _Michael said to himself as he walked away.

Caitlin watched the two men load Hawke's body onto a stretcher. "Dom," she whispered, "I...I need to go with him. I need to...say goodbye."

"I understand, Cait," Dom said, and followed her and the stretcher. _So do I,_ Dom thought sadly.

Dom and Cait wound up in Autopsy, and looked at Hawke's lifeless body on the table. Caitlin looked at the piercing blue eyes, the eyes that she had fallen so deeply in love with. The eyes that reflected so much pain—his inner pain over the loss of his parents, Kelly, Gabrielle, and Saint John; but also held so much passion—his passion for flying with Dom, or her, in the Lady, his passion for aerial photography..._I just wish...I wish those eyes had held that much passion for _**me. **_That I'd been able to light those eyes up...the way he lit up mine. _She recalled the first time Hawke had really smiled at her, when she found him at the hangar while he was working on that old Stearman two years ago. His eyes _had _lit up then, when he'd recognized her and called out, "Caitlin! _Deputy Caitlin!" I didn't even have the heart to correct you, Hawke...'cause I was so thrilled at your expression...at your smile. 'Course, I was already in love with you...even though you refused to acknowledge how I felt...but I knew, that day, that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you...and now, I won't get that chance._

"Cait...you don't...you don't have to do this," Dom said, even though he knew better.

"Yeah, Dom...I do," Caitlin said haltingly through her tears.

Next, she ran her fingers through the fine, military-cut hair that she'd wanted to touch for so long, wanted to run her fingers through as she controlled Hawke's head in a passionate kiss. She'd done it several times before...but only in her dreams. _And...it's not the same, _she said to herself, ignoring the tears that were staining Hawke's red shirt. _Because you're not here, Hawke._

She glanced at his face...the face that belonged to a man she had hoped to spend the rest of her life with. Caitlin tried to force the memory of the kiss from the movie set last year out of her mind, but she couldn't. _God, Hawke. I wanted you to kiss me just like that for the rest of our lives, as my husband. I wanted to be your wife so much, Hawke...even though you never knew it...and now I'll never have you. I'll never know what it feels like to make love to you...and to have you make love to me, the way I always wanted you to. I'll never know what our children might have looked like...never be able to grow old with you. Heck...right now, I'd even tolerate one of your wise-assed comments, String...'cause at least then, I'd know you were alive. _

Her sorrow was as much for Dominic as for herself. "Dom," she whispered, fighting back the tears, "I—I don't want them to have him. I want..." her voice broke again, and she felt the tears overwhelm her. _I want __String __back,_ she said to herself, angrily. She glanced down at Hawke's arms..._the arms I wanted to feel around me every night for the rest of our lives. The arms that I wanted to hold __me, and __my...__our __child. Now...I'll never get to see that. We'll never have a child, Hawke. And...that means, I'll never have children...because you're the only man I wanted to be the father of my kids. _"Dom...Hawke...he can't be dead, Dom. He...he just _can't be."_

"Cait," Dom said, laying his hand on her shoulder, "the doctor needs to do his job. We should...we should go."

"_No," _Caitlin stated forcefully. "That doctor's not taking String."

"Miss O'Shannessy," the doctor said, gazing first at her, then at Dom, and finally at Hawke, "I'll take care of him...I promise."

"_No," _Cait repeated, determined not to let the doctor take Hawke away from her. She picked up Hawke's lifeless left hand...the same hand she'd hoped to slip a wedding ring onto someday, and held it in her own.

"Hawke," she whispered, "I know...I know you can't hear me...but there's a few things I wanted to tell you. Most of all...I have loved you since the day you came to Texas...and I always will. You're...you're the only man I ever wanted, Stringfellow Hawke...and I'll never love anyone else, as long as I live." She reached up to the eyes that stared, lifeless, and gently slipped them closed.

"String...you are my soulmate, even though you never knew it...and I will never..._never_ love anyone again," she vowed. "I...I can't." She paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts, then continued, "The thing that makes me sickest is...you were always so worried that you were gonna lose _me, _String...that's why you never let yourself love me. And now," her voice broke again, and she had to pause a few moments before she could finish her thought. "Now...I've lost _you,_ and you'll never know...how much I loved you. Just...promise me one thing, String," she murmured, and Dom was startled by her use of his first name. "Promise me...promise me that we're good...because if we're not..." She laid her head against his chest, one ear just over his heart, the way she had in his room. She supposed she was hoping to hear his heart begin to beat, that this had all been a terrible, cruel joke. Finally, she lifted her head and pressed a kiss to his cold lips. "And...I'm sorry, String. I'm so damned sorry that this happened to you...and, that it's _my fault _that you're dead. But know this, Stringfellow Hawke...you weren't just the man I loved...you were my best friend." She hung her head and looked down at him, attempting to memorize every detail of his face before she lost him forever. "Good-bye, String," she finally whispered, then added, "Good-bye...my love."

"Come on, Cait," Dom said as he turned her towards the exit. "The doctor needs to...needs to do his thing." He led Caitlin out of the room, but just as they reached the door, Caitlin broke free of his hold and ran back to Hawke, screaming, "_NO! STRING! NO! COME BACK TO ME, STRING! I LOVE YOU!"_

Dom raced toward her and grabbed her around the waist, shouting, "Cait! Cait...it's over! He's gone! Come on, Cait!"

"_NO, DOM! NO!"_ Her tears flowed uncontrollably as Dom wrapped her in his arms, patting her back as he tried to get her to calm down.

Caitlin felt her body seem to crumble beneath her, and felt herself falling to the floor. Just before she hit, though, she felt something encircle her body and pull her to her feet, and felt her body wrapped in strong, comforting arms.

"Hey, Cait...it's okay," Dom was saying, but something didn't seem right to Caitlin. _Dom's voice...sounds different. Hawke...where have they taken Hawke? I've gotta...gotta..._things were beginning to fade before her eyes, and she couldn't understand what was happening to her. Meanwhile, a voice was buzzing in her ears, softly at first, then with increasing persistence.

"Cait? Caitlin? Come on, Cait...look at me, please," Hawke was saying as he rubbed Caitlin's back, trying to get her to wake up from the nightmare. "Caitlin, _wake up_!" The increase in the volume of his voice finally drew Caitlin out of the dream and back to him.

"S—String?" Caitlin murmured, not wanting to believe what she was hearing. _It's impossible...you're dead! "_String, is that you?" She forced herself to look in the direction of the voice, and was shocked to see the ice-blue eyes of her husband staring back at her, the concern, fear, and love all obvious in them. _And,_ Caitlin added to herself, remembering her thoughts a few moments ago, _I—I see __String__'s passion for _**me** _in his eyes. _

"Yeah, Cait," Hawke murmured as he pulled her body close to his, "it's me. I'm here, beautiful. I'm right here with you. You...you wanna talk about it?"

"Nuh," Caitlin mumbled against his chest, as she listened to his strong heartbeat, the heartbeat she had convinced herself had been silenced forever. "Just...just want you to hold me, String." For the next few minutes, they held each other, as Caitlin cried herself out, and tried desperately to convince herself that she was really there, in the cabin, in Hawke's bed, and in Hawke's arms. Hawke, for his part, was trying everything he knew to comfort his wife. Hawke knew that when he heard Caitlin scream, '_NO! STRING! NO! COME BACK TO ME, STRING! I LOVE YOU!'_ he had been more frightened than he had been at any time in his life, even when he was recovering from Horn's brainwashing and thought he had murdered Dom. Hawke knew of only one thing that would elicit that kind of reaction from her. _It happened again,_ Hawke said to himself as he held his wife. _Her nightmare...where I...died. _

Finally, Caitlin thought she had recovered enough to look her husband in the eyes. She gazed into the ice-blue orbs that she'd closed just a few moments ago..._in my nightmare,_ she said to herself, then added, _Thank God...It was...only a nightmare._

"Cait? You had the nightmare again, didn't you? I...I died, didn't I?" Hawke asked. He knew Caitlin had been having nightmares about Hawke dying at her hands in the Horn compound..._but they're only dreams, _Hawke said to himself. He knew about nightmares, of course...he'd had his fair share of them after he came home from Vietnam. _Cait __knows I'm alive. __But...I suppose I can prove it to her...if she needs me to,_ Hawke said to himself.

"Aha," Cait answered, feeling her voice get stronger. She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair, and was relieved when he kissed her again. _God, Hawke...It felt...it felt so _**real. **_I can't believe you're actually here...in my arms...and alive. _

Finally, Caitlin felt like she could talk about what she'd dreamt. She told String how her nightmare always began, with him attacking her in his room back in the Horn compound, and how, after a short fight, she'd stabbed him with Archangel's antidote. "But, in the nightmare...you never wake up," Caitlin said, forcing a fresh wave of tears down, "and Dom and I have to get out of there...alone." She tightened her arms around String again, and was gratified to feel his arms tightening around her in return.

"Well, Caitlin," Hawke said as he pulled her body against his, laying her head on his shoulder and taking one of her hands, and placing it over his heart, "I promise you this—I am very much alive—and, I love you. I love you, so very much," Hawke continued, and allowed her to pull back just enough to smile at her, then pulling her close to him again.

"I know, String," Caitlin breathed as her body melded against his, her head settling in the crook of his neck. She struggled to slow her breathing to match his, to slow the beat of her racing heart, even as her arms went around her husband's waist, tightening around him like steel bands. _If this is what it takes to convince her that I'm alive, she can do this forever...if she needs to_, Hawke said to himself.

In the time Hawke had known this fiery, headstrong redhead, he'd never seen anything—_anything—_terrify her the way that these nightmares had. But since they'd been married...and more importantly, since she found out she was pregnant with his child four months ago, Caitlin's nightmares had increased in intensity until tonight. The look of utter devastation and pain he'd seen in her eyes every night had chilled him nearly to his soul, the soul he didn't think he had, but had found, thanks to the sobbing woman he held. In everything they'd seen...everything they'd been through, he'd never seen a look like that. Even during all his time in Vietnam, when he watched his comrades...his friends...his _brothers in arms..._die in front of him, Stringfellow Hawke had never seen an expression of abject terror like that. It was reserved specifically for the immediate aftermath of these nightmares...the nightmares in which her soulmate, her best friend, was ripped away from her, at her own hand. And it was that expression in his wife's eyes, that combination of abject terror and pain, that nearly killed Stringfellow Hawke every time he saw it.

"String," she whispered, pulling him closer to her body, and rolling beneath him, "Please...I _need_ you. Please, String...take me. Take me, and take all this pain away." She needed him..._all _of him...to feel him around her, on top of her, and inside her.

Caitlin claimed Hawke's lips with her own as he moved over her, and, he knew her desperation to feel him...touch him...taste him...to prove to herself, once again, that her husband was alive and well. "Caitlin O'Shannessy Hawke," he murmured as he covered her body with his own and moved inside her, before he took her lips again, "I am very much alive, and well...and I love you, so very, very much." Then, their lips met again, and there was no more time...or opportunity...to talk.

"Cait?"

"Yes, String?"

"Do you believe me, now...do you believe that I'm really alive?"

"Yeah, String...I believe you," Caitlin said, reassured by the feeling of Hawke's strong arms around her, and the familiar presence of his body against hers. "But...the dream...you _died, _String...and I was the one who killed you."

"Cait," Hawke began, not sure what he was going to say, then deciding, "you were the one who _saved_ all of us...and Airwolf. You set my head right with that antidote...and if you hadn't, Horn would have Airwolf, and we'd _all_ be dead."

"I know, String," she murmured as she snuggled close to him again. "It just seemed so real..."

"I know, Cait," Hawke answered her, "but believe me...it was only a nightmare...we're both here, alive and well...and," he said, sliding his hand down to her belly, "you're having my baby, just like you said you wanted to."

"String? Do me a favor?"

"If I can, Cait," Hawke promised her.

"Promise me you'll never leave me...or our baby," she whispered as she held him, and gazed into the ice-blue orbs that she loved.

"Cait...I don't...I mean..." Hawke hesitated, remembering a similar promise someone else had made him, a long time ago. Finally, seeing Caitlin's eyes fill with tears once again, he spoke. "Caitlin Hawke, I swear to you...I will never..._ever_ leave you, or our baby." Hawke repeated solemnly as he gazed into her blue-green eyes and kissed her again, with every ounce of love and passion he held for her, then the two of them snuggled back into each other's embrace for the night.


	2. Chapter 2

_Nightmares, Chap. 2_

Disclaimer – As usual, don't own 'em...but I sure wish I did, because I'd still play with them.

A/N – Since there is a second chapter (and possibly more), "Nightmares" has become a theme...there may be small connections between stories...but each chapter is essentially a story unto itself. This chapter is based on the S3 episode "Kingdom Come," and also references the S3 opener, "Horn of Plenty." – robertwnielsen

_Summary – _Sometimes, the odds work in your favor...sometimes, they don't.

"_Sawyer! That girl had better be all right!" Stringfellow Hawke shouted as he watched Ken Sawyer walk away from him._

"_Hero to the end, eh, Hawke?" Ken Sawyer, the man who had stolen a dozen nuclear detonators, taunted Stringfellow Hawke and Dominic Santini with a wave of the device in his hand. Sawyer had kidnapped their friend Caitlin O'Shannessy, and held her as a hostage to force Hawke and Dom to ferry him, along with his detonators, to a secret airstrip in Mexico. What he planned to do after that, Hawke had no idea, but if he could help it, Sawyer wouldn't get away with it...whatever "it" was. __**But...he holds the ace-in-the-hole with that detonator device,**__ Hawke said to himself as he watched Sawyer's B-25 take off. __**There's no telling when he'll arm that thing...and if we can stop it if and when he does.**_

"_Well...he armed it," Hawke said a few minutes later, as he heard the countdown timer on the bomb Sawyer had slapped onto Airwolf's center console start up, which meant that a similar timer had started on the bomb Sawyer had told them was strapped to Caitlin. "When that top display gets to zero, that's it. How we doing?" _

"_I'm working on it," Dom piped up from the engineering console, where he was frantically typing commands into Airwolf's computers. "If I can't find the detonator's radio frequency, we won't be able to block the firing mechanism."_

"_Well, we're gonna know in 21 seconds," Hawke shot back, as concerned for Caitlin as he was for himself and Dom. **If Dom and Airwolf can't find that detonator frequency and jam it in time, we've all had it, **Hawke said to himself._

"_I'm trying!" Dom insisted, tapping the keyboard furiously. _

_As Hawke watched the timer clicking down, his thoughts drifted back to Caitlin...Caitlin O'Shannessy, that fiery, and, Hawke had to admit, beautiful redhead who'd walked back into his life a year ago, after he'd met her in Pope County, Texas, when he rescued her from Sheriff Bogan, and then she showed up at Santini Air to tell him about his friend Jimmy dying. _

_And of course, Hawke said to himself, she wanted to know where Airwolf was...and, I denied that she even existed, at first. But I had to trust Caitlin, because Michael was in trouble and Dom was hurt...and she never let us down. Now...when she needs me the most...I can't let her down! I just can't! There's so much...so much I want...no...I **need **to tell her._

_After Hawke was kidnapped by John Bradford Horn, and Caitlin convinced Dom to bring her along when Dom went to rescue Hawke, Hawke had begun to realize something...how much he cared for Caitlin, even to the point of...dare he admit it? Loving her. Hawke realized that he'd fallen in love with the feisty young woman...but he'd been so afraid of loving Caitlin, because of the curse he felt like he had, that he'd never admitted to his feelings, which had driven her into Sawyer's arms and allowed him to use her as bait for Hawke and Airwolf. Now, as the bomb timer neared 10 seconds, Hawke realized he might take his unexpressed feelings about Caitlin to his grave. _

"_Come on, Dom," Hawke said as he saw the countdown timer reach, and then pass, 10 seconds. "We're running out of time, here."_

"_I know, String," Dom said, and his voice became more frantic. "I haven't been able to find a detonator frequency. Sawyer must have that thing set for rotating frequencies. Hate to say it, buddy...I think this is it."_

"_No, Dom!" String shouted, and Dom could hear the panic in his younger surrogate son's voice, but Dom feared that their luck had finally run out. _

"_I'm sorry, String...there's nothing I can do," Dom said as the timer reached 5 seconds. "I love you, kid."_

"_I love you too, Dom," Hawke said, just as the timer reached zero and—_

Hawke sat straight up in bed, feeling the sweat pouring off his body in spite of the cool breeze coming in through the windows of the cabin. The Sawyer incident a few weeks prior had, in Hawke's mind, been the closest he and Dom had come to actually dying on an Airwolf mission, practically since they started flying her. _As it was...we only got the bombs disarmed with 3 seconds to spare. _

_Then...there's Caitlin, _Hawke said to himself. _We...that is..._**I**_ almost lost her,_ Hawke said to himself, glancing down at the woman next to him. _And if I hadn't smartened up after Horn...like happened in the nightmare...I wouldn't have gotten the chance to...to tell her how I feel about her. _In his nightmare, Hawke hadn't admitted to his feelings for Caitlin, when in reality, he'd faced them shortly after the kidnapping by John Bradford Horn, and they had gotten married a few weeks after that. And, just a few months after they were married, just after the incident with Sawyer, Caitlin told String that she was pregnant.

In Hawke's nightmare, Caitlin didn't know how Hawke had felt about her, and she fell hard for Sawyer when he came to the hangar asking about flying lessons, and Sawyer was able to abduct her during one of those lessons. But in reality, they were already married when Sawyer came to the hangar that day and tried to flirt with Caitlin. Hawke had emphatically warned Sawyer to stay away from her, and left no uncertainty that Caitlin was his wife. But later that afternoon, while Hawke and Dom were away from the hangar scouting out locations for a shoot, Sawyer had returned to the hangar and kidnapped Caitlin, chloroforming her before she knew he was there.

"Hawke?" Caitlin mumbled sleepily, and String realized that his reaction to the nightmare had awakened her.

"I'm sorry, Cait," Hawke answered her, "I...I didn't mean to wake you." _After all, she's pregnant,_ Hawke said to himself. _She needs every minute of sleep she can get...because neither one of us will get that much once the baby is born._

"Are...are you okay?" She glanced up and looked into her husband's eyes, and noticed they were the icy shade of blue, almost black, that indicated he was frightened. And if Caitlin knew anything about Stringfellow Hawke, it was that he did not frighten easily. _Whatever it was that woke him up,_ Caitlin said to herself, _it had to be terrible to force Hawke to react like that. _She knew she had only seen that look of abject terror in her husband's eyes once before—when he recovered from John Bradford Horn's brainwashing, and thought he had murdered Dom. _I hoped I'd never see his eyes like that again,_ Caitlin said to herself.

"Yeah...nah," he mumbled, not exactly sure which he meant, especially since his brain was still coming back online after the nightmare.

"Well, which is it, Hawke? Yes, or no?" Caitlin replied as her mind became more awake, and more able to process what was happening. _And,_ she said to herself, _hopefully I can help him...the way he helped me._ When Hawke didn't respond, Caitlin asked him, "Wanna talk about it?"

Hawke hesitated a beat before he answered his wife. "Yeah," he said finally, feeling more confident in his voice. He turned the lights on in the bedroom and turned to face her.

"It was terrible, Cait. It was...during the incident with Sawyer," Hawke began, not sure how he would describe what happened. "Except that...things were completely different between us...you and I weren't married...we weren't even in _love, _actually...and you were dating Sawyer because you didn't know how I felt about you. Dom and I were aboard Airwolf, after we dropped Sawyer off...we were coming back to try to help you, and he armed the bombs...the one aboard Airwolf, and..."

"And the one that was strapped around me," Caitlin replied, and suppressed a shudder at the memory of how she'd woken up aboard that cruise ship with a bomb strapped to her chest. She had been working on something with her back to the hangar door, and never saw Sawyer when he came back while she was alone. She remembered when she felt Sawyer grab her from behind and clamp a rag that he'd soaked in chloroform over her nose and mouth. She'd fallen unconscious quickly, and the next thing she remembered was when she came to aboard the ship, strapped to the chair and helpless.

"Yeah," Hawke replied, shaking his head. "Only...only in the nightmare, Dom couldn't find the frequency for Sawyer's detonator in time...and..." Hawke's voice broke and he found himself unable to even look at his wife, but he finished the sentence the only way he could, in his mind. _And we all died when the bombs detonated. Dom, Michael, Babe...me...and you. And I...I never got to tell you...that I'd fallen in love with you, Caitlin. _Hawke was suddenly snapped back to the present when he heard his wife's voice.

"Hawke...look at me," Caitlin said, as she turned her husband's face towards hers so she could look into his eyes again. "Hawke...we're okay. You and me...Dom, Michael...Babe...we're all okay. It was...it was just a nightmare, Hawke," she murmured, pulling him close to her and resting his head on her shoulder. "It was just a nightmare," she said again, even as she remembered her nightmare of only a few months prior, where Hawke died after she injected him with the antidote to the brainwashing drugs John Bradford Horn had used on him.

"I guess...I guess now I know how you felt, Cait," Hawke replied, feeling his heartbeat finally come under control as he wrapped his arms around his wife, and felt hers around him, "when you had that nightmare a few months ago. And," Hawke continued, sliding his hand over Caitlin's belly where their child grew, "we've got two more months before this little guy makes his entrance into the world. How are we gonna make it without going crazy?"

Caitlin smiled at Hawke's question. "You're worried about going crazy _now,_ String? Wait until a few months after he's born. _Then_, we can talk about going crazy." When Caitlin had gone for her sonogram three months ago, they had discovered she was carrying a son.

"String," Caitlin said, as her hand slid over the top of his on her belly, "are you...having..."

"_NO," _String interrupted, then realized he might not be thinking on the same lines as his wife. "No, Caitlin...I'm not having second thoughts about the baby...If that's what's worrying you."

"Yeah, String...it was," Caitlin admitted sheepishly. "I mean...Are we...are we ready to deal with that? Being parents, I mean?"

"Guess we should have worried about that before..." String replied, then shook his head. "I don't think anybody's really 'ready' to be a parent, Cait...at least, Saint John tells me Mom and Dad told him they weren't, when they became parents the first time. We'll just...we'll just have to take things as they go. But we've got Dom to help...and Sinj...heck, I think even Michael and Marella will want to help us...plus there's your mom and Erin...I'm sure your mother can't wait to meet her grandson." Hawke smiled as he recalled Caitlin's mother's reaction to the announcement that they were having a baby. _I'm surprised __either one of us__ still hear after that,_ Hawke said to himself as he recalled the high-pitched shriek that had come over the phone at the hangar the day Hawke and Caitlin had called her mother to make their announcement.

"Okay, String," Caitlin said with a grin, then her expression turned worried again. "And you're right about Mom. Between her and Dom, not to mention Marella, Erin, and Saint John, this guy's gonna be spoiled rotten." Her eyes turned back towards her husband, the concern and love still evident there. "You...you doing any better?"

Hawke took a few deep breaths before he answered. "Yeah," he finally said. "Yeah...I'm okay. At least, for now. Sorry about waking you up, Cait...I know you need your sleep and all."

"It's okay, String," Caitlin replied as she snuggled into his chest, "I was worried about you...I heard you sit up, and, it scared me...because I didn't know what happened until I woke up and saw the look in your eyes." _The one I never want to see again..._**ever.**_ And I'll do whatever it takes to make sure I don't see it again, _Caitlin determined quietly. But something Hawke had said was beginning to bother her.

"Hawke," Caitlin began, "are you telling me that in this nightmare of yours, I actually fell in love with that creep Sawyer? I can't believe I woulda done somethin' like that," she said emphatically.

"Well, Cait, like I said, I hadn't figured out my feelings about you after Horn...in the nightmare," Hawke replied, looking deep into the blue-green eyes that he loved. "And Sawyer was able to use that to his advantage."

"Still, Hawke, I can't believe I would start dating a guy like that...when I was already in love with you...even if you didn't love me back," Caitlin replied. "I mean..."

"Cait," Hawke interrupted her, "in your nightmare...when I died...you knew you loved me, right?"

"Well, yeah," Caitlin said, as if it were the most obvious answer in the world.

"But, you knew I didn't love you," Hawke countered. "You told me so." Hawke recalled asking Caitlin about her nightmare, and how she had talked to his corpse, even though she knew, in the nightmare, that he was dead and couldn't hear her. Caitlin had told him how, in her nightmare, she had confessed that she'd loved him from the day she met him, even though he'd never allowed himself to love her back, as he lay in Autopsy at the FIRM headquarters. She knew what Hawke had felt at the moment he woke up—_In his nightmare...Hawke never confessed his feelings about me...just like he never knew my feelings about him, in mine. I...I guess I understand that. But...they were both just nightmares,_ Caitlin said to herself. _And this...this is reality._

"Okay, Hawke," Caitlin said, slowly beginning to understand. "I get all that...but still..."

"I guess it doesn't matter," String said as he pulled his wife closer to him and she leaned against him, her head coming to rest on his chest, one ear over his heart, "Like you said...it was just a nightmare. But, again, I'm sorry that I woke you. And I appreciate your helping me relax...I feel a lot better now, Caitlin," he said, feeling the initial rush of adrenaline the nightmare had caused beginning to fade.

"No problem, String," Caitlin replied, and looked up into the eyes of her husband. "I mean, we're a team...and you did the same for me when I had that nightmare a few months ago. Why do you think we've been having these bad dreams, Hawke?"

"Well, Cait," Hawke replied, knowing he had been wondering the same thing himself, "I think we're experiencing things that a lot of people do when they're about to become parents...and they're more intense for us because of everything that goes on in our lives...Horn, Sawyer, and all the rest of it. Part and parcel with Airwolf, I suppose." Hawke grinned in spite of himself.

"Yeah, String," Caitlin replied, "that black battleship with the rotors does create its own special set of problems. But, we've made it this far...and we'll make it when the baby's born. I know it, String. I believe in us, you know that."

"I know, Caitlin, and so do I," Hawke replied as he noticed her eyes begin to close. "So do I." He cuddled her against his body, feeling her arms wrap around his waist as she snuggled in close to him, even as he knew she was already falling asleep. Hawke turned out the lights as he continued working to slow his heartbeat and breathing to allow sleep to claim him, and as he did, he thought once again of the woman he'd given his heart and his life to, and received hers in return, which had made both their lives interminably better. Finally, he felt his eyes close and sleep begin to claim him. _Thank you again, Caitlin. _String said to himself. _Thank you for everything._


	3. Chapter 3

_Nightmares, Chap. 3_

Disclaimer – As usual, don't own 'em...but I sure wish I did, because I'd still play with them.

A/N – This chapter is based off the S1 episode _Fight Like A Dove, _specifically the beginning scene where Hawke does the altitude test in Airwolf. There will also be references made to my _Christmas Matchmaking _story, as well as the S3 episode _Fortune Teller,_ specifically the character of Megan Ravenson from that story. Hope you enjoy it – robertwnielsen

_Summary – _Sometimes, the odds work in your favor...sometimes, they don't.

"_Check oxygen and pressurization," String said from the pilot's seat._

"_We're at 4,000 feet," I said. "What've you got against regular air?" I was concerned...hell, forget concerned...I was worried._

"_We're goin' up," String said._

"_Oh? How far?" I asked, my worry growing._

"_We'll find out," Hawke said. Now, forget worried—Now, I was scared to _**death.**_ What the heck was String thinking? I pressed the appropriate button on the engineering console and saw a green light, and heard the hiss of pressurization. "Oxygen and pressure okay. Goin' up," I said, as I felt Airwolf's nose pulled into a steep climb._

_I started counting the altitude as I watched the altimeter spin up past 20,000...30,000...40,000...when we hit 50,000, String asked if he had full power. I shoved the turbo lever full against the stops and called, "103%." Still watching the altimeter, I knew why I was so scared as I saw it slowly spin past 70,000 feet...What the hell is a helicopter doing at 70,000 feet? I asked myself._

"_Hey, look, it's night time out!" I said in wonder, looking at the sky turning from bright blue to almost black._

"_This thing's almost a spaceship!" String said. _

"_She wasn't _**built **_to be a spaceship!" I shot back, then noticed the altimeter beginning to slow...I knew our Lady didn't have much left, and at around 86,000 feet, I told String, "We're gonna flounder. 86,000!...84,000...80,000..."_

_The numbers on the digital altimeter at the engineering console were decreasing even faster than they had increased on the climb up, if that was possible. And I noticed something else...every light on every console was blinking...making the engineering console look like Broadway on opening night._

"_We gotta get back down to some thicker air," String said. "Call off when we get to 40,000."_

"_Why?" I asked._

"_We'll use the turbos again then," String replied, and I could tell his nerves were getting in the way by the tone of his voice when he said that was our only shot at getting control back._

"_Coming down," I said...50,000..."_

_As soon as I called out 40,000 feet, String called for the turbos again. I felt the familiar kick in the butt as the powerful turbines engaged, and watched the altimeter numbers decreasing even faster, if that was possible. By the time we reached 5,000 feet, I began worrying that maybe we'd pushed our Lady too far, especially since String hadn't been able to regain control. _

_Just then I heard String say, "Dom...we've got problems. I can't get control back." I thought to myself, 'Well, tell me something I _**don't **_know.' With the altimeter nearing 2,000 feet, I thought we had had it. But, if I gotta go, at least, I'm going with one of my 'kids.'_

"_We're going in, String!" I shouted as the altimeter spun past 2,000 feet. I watched over String's shoulder as the ground rushed up to meet us, then screamed, "OH, MY GOD!" just before..._

I sat straight up in bed, sweat pouring down my face. _Whoa..._I said to myself, realizing what had just happened – _a nightmare. It was just a nightmare. _Of course, when we _really _pulled that power climb, String was able to get control of Airwolf back just _before_ we plowed into the ground. I know I said more than a few "Hail Mary's" on the way down...and, I made sure to tell the Lady how proud of her I was when we got back to the Lair.

Oh, sure, String gave me his usual strange look – he doesn't understand the way I feel about our Lady...and the way I think she feels. Call me crazy (and believe me, String has...not in so many words, but I know that's what he meant), but I just think there's a lot more to Airwolf than just nuts, bolts, and circuit boards. She's got a personality...and...feelings. I know more than once, I've heard a noise that I would call a sigh come from her when we leave...but String says it's probably just the pressure equalizing in the cabin...but that's his opinion, and he's entitled to it, just like I'm entitled to mine.

So, back to the nightmare I just woke up from. I've had nightmares after Airwolf missions, but usually they've centered around String dying alone...I think tonight's was the first I ever had when _I _died along with him. But, I've always known that was a possibility—I mean, even with all the weaponry and armor plating on Airwolf, there's always the chance of one lucky shot...more than once, we've gone down because of a lucky hit to the tail rotor...and I remember when String came to rescue me when the plane I was flying got forced down, and Michael flew with him to rescue me—the guys who were keeping me prisoner managed to get a shot at Airwolf's tail rotor and disable it...but String was able to find a place to fix it, miraculously.

But after the nightmare I just went through, I realized something—I need somebody. I mean, String's got Cait...and Saint John's home...the four of us have got each other, but at the same time, I...I'm _lonely._ I kinda know what String was feelin' all those years that he pushed people away...'cause I feel kinda the same way. I mean, I'll be perfectly frank—being alone _sucks. _And, I'd like to be able to share the days I've got left..however many there are...with somebody...but not just _anybody. _I've actually got somebody in mind.

Megan. The vision of my friend Megan Ravenson came into my head just then...and I realized something. I miss her...and...I've got feelings for her. Feelings that went way beyond friendship. Hell, I proved as much at that party a couple of days ago, I thought to myself, remembering how I'd kissed Megan under the mistletoe at Michael and Marella's house. I mean, sure, she asked String to fly her up to the cabin and meet Tet after the Fortune Teller mission...but he didn't. And I know how much younger Megan is than me...but that shouldn't matter...if she feels the same way about me that I do about her. I mean...Ever since I met Marella, I thought that she had feelings for Michael that were more than just respect for her employer...which was confirmed the day she told us about Michael being captured in East Germany—she wouldn't have gotten so ticked at me if she thought of Michael as just her boss—and I still remember when she said "His only chance is Airwolf!" Except, she was nervous, so the last word came out sounding like "Air-woof," which I thought was a little strange. But now that I think about it, Michael's not too much younger than I am...and Marella's probably close to Cait's age...so what's so weird about that? I said to myself as I climbed into the shower—I knew there was no way I was getting back to sleep, even though it was a Saturday, so I decided to get moving with my day.

Once I'd showered and dressed, I started looking through the phone book for a florist—I had an idea, and was hoping Megan would go along with it. Then I realized—it was only 6:30, and I'd have to wait until at least 9:00 to call the florist I'd found, so I flipped on the TV and found an old Western that I'd been wanting to watch.

By the time the movie was over, I placed a call to the florist and ordered a dozen roses, to be delivered to Megan's apartment, and had them put a phone number on the card – no name, just my phone number. _I want this to be a surprise,_ I said to myself when I hung up. Of course, the hardest part was after I hung up the phone—_the waiting. _I looked through the channels again and finally found another old Western, and sat down to wait.

I was better than halfway through a third Western, and in all honesty, I'd begun to think that either the flowers hadn't been delivered yet, or that Megan had decided not to call the number that was on the card..._my number._ Just then, the phone rang. I jumped off the couch and grabbed the phone, trying not to sound too excited. "Hello?"

"Hello...who is this?"

"This is Dom, Megan," I said, recognizing the voice instantly. "Dominic Santini. How're you doing, Megan?"

"Dom, hi!" Megan said, and I could detect the happiness in her voice, which encouraged me. "I'm doin' good...kinda lonely...but okay otherwise. Hey, Dom, I've got a question for you."

I felt my heart clutch in my throat. "What's on your mind, Megan?" Something in her tone of voice told me that she was wondering about something...and with those psychic abilities of hers, that's saying something, if _she's _confused.

"Well...a delivery man just brought a dozen roses to my apartment...and the only thing on the card was a phone number...turns out it was _your_ phone number. You...ah...you wouldn't _happen_ to have had anything to do with that, would you?"

"Yeah, Megan, I did," I said, smiling. "I've...I've been thinking a lot about you ever since the Fortune Teller deal...and..." I was talking about the time when I talked Megan into using her psychic abilities to help us find Archangel, who had been kidnapped as part of a plan to develop and install the Fortune Teller device, a device which could make any plane equipped with it into a fighter, if it were armed with the correct ammunition.

I also remembered how Megan had asked String to fly her up to the cabin and meet his dog, Tet when the mission was over. _"I never told you my dog's name was Tet!" _String had said...but, like so many times recently, until a few days ago with Caitlin, even after flying Megan up to the cabin, String decided not to pursue a relationship with her. Which, I have to admit, made me happy.

"Dom?" Megan asked, and the sound of her voice snapped me back to reality.

"Yeah, Megan?" I responded.

"You're saying..._you _sent me these beautiful flowers?" Megan asked, and I could hear the disbelief in her voice.

"Guilty as charged, Megan," I said, embarrassed. "I...I've been thinking a lot about you since the Fortune Teller mission...and Megan...there's something I want to tell you."

"Yes, Dom?" Megan asked me, and I thought I heard a twinge of anxiety in her voice.

"It's just that...Megan...I...I like you...I like you a lot." I said, and girded myself against the possibility of disappointment, which was why I didn't say _'I love you,_' even though that's how I really feel.

The silence at the other end of the phone line convinced me that Megan was gone, but suddenly I heard her voice again. "Dom...how much do you 'like' me?"

"Like I said, Megan...I like you a lot," I said, still anxious.

"Well, Dom," Megan said, and I could hear her voice shaking as she continued, "I have something to tell you, too. I...I 'like' you, too...a lot."

I felt my heart lighten with joy at Megan's words. "You do? You 'like' me, too? What about..." I was talking about when she asked String to fly her up to the cabin.

"Oh, Dominic," I heard Megan say, "I only asked String to fly me up to the cabin to try to make you jealous...and when I didn't hear from you for so long after that, I didn't think it had worked. Besides...even though he didn't say it at the time, I knew String had eyes for Caitlin."

"It worked, Meg," I said, shaking my head. "I just didn't know how to tell you how I felt...until I got the idea last night after I had a nightmare," and I proceeded to tell her about the dream I'd had where String and I had gone down in Airwolf.

"Wow, Dom," Megan said when I'd finished telling her about my dream, "I can see where that would scare you to death. Heck, it scared _me_ to death. But did you and String really do that?"

"Yeah," I said, laughing, "only in reality, String managed to get control back just before we augured in...I mean..."

"I know, Dom," Megan said, laughing. "I've watched a few old war movies too, you know. I've heard that phrase before."

_That's something I didn't know about her,_ I said to myself. "You...you like old war movies?"

"Yeah, I do," Megan said. "WWII especially...but I'll watch just about anything."

"Well, we'll have to watch some old movies sometime," I said with a smile on my face.

"How about today?" Megan asked. "Isn't the hangar closed on the weekends?"

"Well, yeah," I said, hesitating, "but..."

"'But' me no 'buts,' Santini. I'll be over in a little while...make some popcorn!" And she hung up. I felt as nervous as a teenager on his first date as I waited for Megan, even as I gathered up the supplies to make popcorn. I put the popcorn on just as I heard the doorbell ring.

"Megan, good to see you again!" I said as she walked into the apartment.

"Good to see you too, Dom," Megan said, giving me a quick hug. She walked in and said, "Popcorn's almost done," just as I turned off the popper and put some butter in a pot on the stove to melt.

A few minutes later, the popcorn was buttered and ready, and after I grabbed a couple of sodas from the fridge, we found _Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo_ on cable TV.

"Ooh, this is one of my _favorite_ movies," Megan said as she grabbed a handful of popcorn.

"_Really?" _I asked, incredulously. I couldn't believe somebody like Megan would be interested in old historic war movies.

"Yeah...I love Van Johnson...and Robert Mitchum...and of course, Spencer Tracy is _terrific _as Jimmy Doolittle." We laughed and settled in to watch the movie. When it reached the scene after the raid where General Doolittle was asking Ted Lawson about his wife, even though he knew she was already on her way, Megan turned to me and said, "Boy, wouldn't you hate to sit across from Doolittle in a poker game?"

I laughed. "Yeah. If he can say things like that with a straight face, and not betray any knowledge that Ellen's already on her way, he'd be a real sonofabitch...oops...sorry, Megan..." I began hesitantly.

"That's okay, Dom," she said, laughing. "That's about what I would have said, too. I say that word all the time," she said with a smile. _Damn...I'm learning all kinds of things about Megan,_ I said to myself. We ended up watching the rest of _Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, _and Megan decided to stay when she found _Midway_ on another channel.

"Let me guess...Henry Fonda?" I said, laughing.

"Right, Dom," Megan said.

When _Midway _was over, Megan decided it was time to go home, since it was almost dinnertime.

"Not a chance, Meg," I said, moving back into the kitchen. "I'll make spaghetti, if that's..."

"Sounds perfect, Dom," Megan said with a friendly smile.

We spent our time during dinner talking about the safe things—Megan wanted to know about String and Caitlin, of course...and wondered how long it would be before there was a baby on the way. _I sure hope they get married first,_ I said to myself.

"I hope so, too, Dom," Megan said, surprising me.

"You 'hope so, too'...what?" I asked.

"I hope...that Hawke sees sense and marries Cait before they wind up pregnant," Megan said with a grin, and I kicked myself for thinking about that when I knew Megan had psychic abilities and could sense what I was thinking.

"Sorry, Megan," I said, then changed the subject to Michael and Marella being married.

"In some ways, I'm not surprised," Megan said, smiling. "I thought there was something between Michael and Marella...just like you all thought there was something between Hawke and Cait. Glad we were all right, huh?"

"Yeah, Megan," I said as I moved into the kitchen to do the dishes.

"No, Dom...let me," Megan said. "You've been so nice to me today...let me do this for you."

"It's okay, Meg, really...I got it," I said.

"Dom," she said, in a tone of voice that I thought I recognized, "I insist." _I knew it. She's not gonna take 'no' for an answer._ I recognized that tone of voice as one she used a couple of times during the Fortune Teller mission, so I backed out of the kitchen, but did help dry the dishes.

"I really enjoyed today, Dom," Megan said just before she walked out of my apartment. "I haven't had so much fun in a long time...being with you, watching old movies...sure beats watching them alone." Meg's smile could have lit up my apartment for the next three days all by itself.

"So have I, Meg," I said, and the smile in my voice was evident. "As somebody once said, 'This looks like the beginning of a BEE-YOO-TI-FUL friendship.'" _And maybe more,_ I said to myself.

"Yeah, I think so, too, Dom," Megan said, and then added, "By the way...that was Humphrey Bogart in _Casablanca_, who said that."

"I knew that," I said.

"Well...good night, Megan," I said, giving her a friendly kiss on the cheek.

"Oh, Dom, you can do better than _that,_ can't you?" Megan demanded, a particular glint in her eyes, just before she grabbed my face in her hands and kissed me full on the lips. I didn't know what to do at first, but, just like String did when he had to kiss Cait on that movie set a while back, I warmed into the kiss, real quick, and wrapped my arms around Megan's waist as I felt hers going around my shoulders.

When she finally pulled us apart, after I'd caught my breath, Megan said, "There. That's better." She grinned at me and said, "Dom...I have something I want to tell you. I...I _love you, _Dominic Santini."

Stunned, I didn't know what to say at first...but finally, I was able to tell her what was in my heart. "Megan Ravenson...I love you, too." Then, I kissed her goodbye again—properly.

When I went to bed that night, I was a lot more relaxed than I'd been for a long time—oh, sure, I was anxious about this new relationship that Megan and I were beginning, but something told me it was all gonna work out. _Maybe, in more ways than one,_ I said to myself as I dropped off to sleep. Then, I realized something – _if I hadn't had that nightmare, I never would have sent Megan those flowers—and I wouldn't have found out that she loves me—or that I love her the way I do. Guess maybe it happened for a reason,_ I thought to myself as I dropped off to sleep, a smile on my face. _Somehow, I got a feelin' things are gonna work out...for String and Cait...and Megan and me. _I felt a smile cross my face as I fell asleep, knowing that String and I were finally both truly happy.


	4. Chapter 4

_Nightmares, Chap. 4_

Disclaimer – As usual, don't own 'em...but I sure wish I did, because I'd still play with them.

A/N – This chapter is based off the S2 episode _Fallen Angel, _but set sometime after the third season opener, _Horn of Plenty._

_Summary – _Sometimes, the odds work in your favor...but sometimes, they don't.

"_Good luck,"_ I said as I walked out of the hospital room where Stringfellow Hawke and Dominic Santini lay, after an accident during a movie stunt. Dominic was definitely the worse for wear, in a full body cast, so I knew there was no way he'd be going on this mission...at least, the mission I _hoped_ Hawke was going to start—going after the Deputy Director of the FIRM..._and the man I love,_ I said to myself as I passed Dominic's newest employee, Caitlin O'Shannessy.

I didn't say a word to Caitlin as I passed by her, barely acknowledging her presence. Not because I didn't like her...far from it. I _do _like her...and, I think, in his own way, Stringfellow Hawke likes her, too...but that's a discussion for another time. I just...think that it's best if Caitlin doesn't know who I am...and who I work for...just yet. _They're going to have enough to worry about, if Hawke does what I think he's going to do,_ I said to myself, knowing that he and Dominic were probably discussing plans for the rescue attempt even at that moment. _God protect them,_ I said to myself as I met the limo driver, who would take me back to Knightsbridge.

During the short ride back to Knightsbridge, I couldn't help but remember the way the conversation with Dominic and Hawke had gone. Dominic had been the more skeptical and, I have to admit, sarcastic of the two of them. Some of his comments rubbed me absolutely the wrong way, and when he said, _"Like the FIRM," _after I told them that the East Germans were known to 'eat their own' intelligence agents, like what was evidently happening with the woman Michael had gone in to rescue when he was captured, I lost it.

"_DAMMIT! I didn't come here to verbally fence with you! Michael's probably being tortured right now...his only chance is Airwolf!"_ I remembered saying, then I had to laugh to myself, in spite of the seriousness of the situation, when I recalled that the last word had come out sounding like "Air-woof." I do that sometimes, especially when I get anxious or agitated, for some odd reason. Which meant it made perfect sense why it came out that way when I was yelling at Dominic. I didn't mean to be so rude to him—after all, he was just expressing an opinion, and, in all fairness, he was right—the FIRM _does _tend to 'eat their own,' especially when an operative is captured. _I suppose I'll apologize to Dominic...and to Hawke...when they get back,_ I said to myself as the limo arrived at Knightsbridge and the driver opened the back door. I thanked him and walked off, headed for the elevator back to my office.

A few minutes later, I was back in my office, which was just outside of Michael's. I stopped and picked up a photograph on my desk—of the four of us, taken the day Hawke and Caitlin had gotten married. My arm was around Michael's waist, and his was around my shoulders, but I could tell that the expression on his face was somewhat forced. _Like he was just doing what the photographer told him,_ I said to myself sadly as I gazed at Michael and me before I set the photo back down. I know it sounds awful, even selfish, but right then I was wishing that Michael and I were the ones who had gotten married that day. _Well,_ I said to myself, _let's get them home first, then we can worry about the rest of it. _

Now came the hardest part of this entire mission – the waiting. It would take Hawke, and I'm presuming, Caitlin, since Dominic looked like he would be in traction for at least a month, and completely out of commission as far as a rescue attempt was concerned, several hours to reach East German airspace, even at Mach 1 plus. _Of course, they can't keep that speed up all the way to Europe,_ I said to myself, knowing that I'd arranged several refuelings via KC-135 tankers along the route. There would also be an AWACS radar aircraft orbiting near the border, in West German airspace—its official mission would be surveillance, so that the East Germans wouldn't raise any questions about an American aircraft operating so close to their borders, but it also had a second mission—_early warning to Airwolf for MiG fighters...and keeping us here at Knightsbridge apprised of the status of the mission._ That was another little touch I had arranged—I wanted some way to be able to know if the mission had succeeded or failed, and I figured having a radar platform near the border would help me to know if Airwolf had made it in and out safely, before they would report the mission's status. _Of course, I know they'd be radio silent all the way in,_ I said to myself. _Hawke's too smart to risk the entire mission over something like that._

I tried to busy myself with paperwork or other menial tasks, just to keep myself from watching the clock on my computer...but my thoughts kept drifting back to the objective of this mission – Michael Coldsmith-Briggs III, or as he's more popularly known, "Archangel." The man I've loved ever since that day at Red Star, just a few short months ago.

"_I trust the Senator remembers me," Airwolf's commander, Charles Henry Moffet, said to Senator William Dietz, who had been monitoring the demonstration from Red Star Control. _

"_Well...it was...it was a long time ago," Senator Dietz responded._

"_Yes...the FIRM has demonstrated great confidence in my ability to...ah...to change," Moffet said, and I was sure I heard someone chuckling on board Airwolf...from the sound of the laughter, I'd say it came from the Electronic Data Command Center._

"_Well, I'm sure their trust is well-founded," Senator Dietz replied._

"_Not really," Moffet responded coldly..._and then, _all hell _broke loose. Every weapon aboard Airwolf began firing—and in the instant before the first 30mm rounds hit, Michael grabbed my arms and threw me down to the floor, covering my body with his own as destruction rained around us. _If he were on top of me like that in any other circumstances,_ I remembered thinking to myself for some odd reason—odd in the sense that I couldn't understand why I was thinking about Michael making love to me when our co-workers...our_ friends, _dammit...were _dying_ around us.

_But, _I said to myself as I walked down to the lobby to meet the Chinese delivery man who had arrived, _I was. _I was thinking about having Michael make love to me that day, even as Moffet destroyed Red Star Control. As I paid the delivery man and went back up to my office with my dinner, I felt myself wishing again that Michael _would_ make love to me...or do _something _to me, to let me know that he felt about me the way that I felt about him._ But then again,_ I said to myself, _does Michael really _**know **_how I feel about him? _I asked myself as I ate. _I mean...sure, I've dropped hints about my feelings for him, especially after Red Star...but I loved him long before then. Red Star just gave me some hope, I guess._

I made a decision while I sat there eating. _When they get back...if they get back...I'm going to tell Michael exactly how I feel about him...and hope for the best. _I had to admit that I wasn't exactly sure how I'd react if Michael didn't have the same feelings for me that I had for him. _If he doesn't love me...or if he rejects my feelings...I'll just die, _I said to myself. _And at the very least, I'll have to either quit working here, or be reassigned...but how can I find a place to work here where I wouldn't be in contact with Archangel, for heaven's sake? _I decided that I'd worry about that only if Michael rejected my profession of my feelings for him.

Once I'd finished my dinner, I settled back in my chair with a book I had brought with me – a real 'bodice-ripper,' as they say, and probably not the sort of thing I should be reading considering what was on my mind. _But, if it takes my mind _**off **_worrying about Hawke, Dominic, Caitlin, and the mission...then I'll make whatever sacrifice I have to._

"_Mission Control, this is AWACS Zulu Bravo 375. Mission Control-_" The sound of the AWACS commander's voice broke through the fog of sleep that was threatening to envelop me. I hurried to pick up the microphone.

"AWACS Zulu Bravo 375, this is Mission Control, reading you five-by-five," I said, trying to keep the nerves out of my voice. "Status of Operation Angel of Mercy?"

"Yes, ma'am," the AWACS controller reported, hesitating.

"Well, Colonel, what is the status?" I demanded.

"Ma'am...Angel Flight was...destroyed over East Berlin just a few minutes ago," the colonel reported, and I felt a lump in my throat. _Destroyed? Airwolf? Impossible...unless..._the thought occurred to me that if Caitlin were at Dom's normal position at the Electronic Data Command Center, she might not have been able to deploy Airwolf's countermeasures in time to avoid an East German missile attack.

"Has this...has this been confirmed, Colonel?" I asked, my voice shaking, and I knew I would break into tears at his next words.

"I'm sorry, ma'am...we monitored the explosion ourselves," the AWACS commander reported, then added, "We also received confirmation of an airborne explosion via the SPACETRACK FPS-79 radar system." The SPACETRACK system, I knew, was designed to monitor Soviet ICBM sites, to provide some warning of a missile strike in case they were somehow able to knock down our primary early warning satellite system. It was surely powerful enough, especially the more recent FPS-79 radar, to have monitored an explosion in East German airspace.

"Could it have been an East German fighter?" I demanded, grabbing onto a sliver of hope, small though I knew it was.

"Ah, that's a negative, ma'am," the AWACS commander reported. "The missile was clearly fired from an East German MiG-25, on a direct track towards Angel Flight," he continued, and I knew, then, that the mission had failed. _Michael's never coming back,_ I sobbed to myself.

"Thank you, Colonel," I said, and I knew my voice would betray my emotions. "Mission Control, signing off."

"Roger," the colonel replied. "AWACS 375, returning to normal patrol routes."

I slammed my fist against the solid oak desk, and screamed, _"NO! MICHAEL...MICHAEL, COME BACK TO ME! I LOVE YOU, MICHAEL!"_

And just that quickly, I sat up in bed, realizing that I'd screamed that last sentence out loud. I quickly turned and saw the man I'd just been having a nightmare about—my husband, Michael Coldsmith-Briggs III—sleeping next to me. At least, he _was_ sleeping, until my scream woke him up.

"Marella! Marella, are you all right?" Michael demanded, turning to look at me with his good eye.

"Michael...I'm...I'm so sorry," I whispered, even as he took me in his arms and pulled me against his body. "I...I didn't mean to wake you."

"I know, Marella...I know," Michael said as he rubbed my back, trying to comfort me. Finally, he pulled me to where I could look at him face-to-face, and asked the question I knew was on his mind.

"Which was it? Red Star...or...East Germany?"

"East Germany," I admitted sheepishly.

"Well, come on," Michael said as he rolled out of bed and put on his robe, "I'll make us some hot cocoa, and you can tell me about it."

"I think...I think I'd like that, Michael," I mumbled, hurrying to put my own robe and slippers on and catch up with my husband.

A few minutes later, I was sitting with a steaming cup of hot cocoa, with marshmallows, as Michael sat next to me at our kitchen table. "Tell me," he ordered, in that tone of voice he usually reserved for Hawke and Dominic, when he was angry with them.

"It...it starts right after I leave their hospital room, I said, my voice growing stronger with each word. "I head back to Knightsbridge, order some Chinese takeout for dinner, and then, for some odd reason, look at a picture of the four of us...that was taken at Hawke and Cait's wedding."

"How in the world did _that _get there?" Michael demanded, laughing, considering that when Michael was captured, Caitlin and Hawke barely even _knew _each other, let alone knew that they had feelings for each other. I mean, the picture is there _now—_where it belongs, right next to one that was taken on _our _wedding day, but when Michael was captured, marriage, especially to each other, was the absolute _last_ thing that either Stringfellow Hawke _or_ Caitlin O'Shannessy was thinking about.

"That's...actually a _very good question,_" I admitted. "Anyway, after I eat, I sit down with one of my novels," I said, smiling at Michael's reaction. "Then, the AWACS plane that was orbiting on the other side of the border calls in, and tells me that..." I couldn't finish the sentence as I broke down in tears again.

"That Airwolf was destroyed," Michael finished for me. I nodded, embarrassed that I was still having these nightmares.

"Don't be embarrassed, Marella," Michael said as if he'd read my mind. "Caitlin told me she still has nightmares about the time Horn captured Stringfellow...and, you remember Hawke telling us about the nightmare _he_ recently had...and then..."

"Dominic," I interrupted, having heard about Dominic Santini's nightmare, the latest until tonight to strike one of us connected with the Airwolf program. _Of course...Hawke and Caitlin are both scared to death...they're due to become parents any day now...and Dom..._

"Couldn't you just see it, Marella?" Michael asked, stifling a chuckle. "You, Stringfellow, Caitlin, and Dominic all sitting in a room with a FIRM shrink, talking about these nightmares you've been having?"

"If you're trying to be funny, Michael, you failed miserably," I said as I took a deep drink of my cocoa. "Why you would even think to joke about something like..." Michael put his finger over my lips just then to stop me from going off on him.

"You're right, Marella," Michael said, then added, "and I'm sorry. That's not the sort of thing I should be making jokes about."

"You're right, Michael, it's not," I said as I finished my cocoa. I was angry, and hurt that Michael chose to make light of what I considered a very serious...and _terrifying..._situation. The thought of talking to a shrink about my nightmare had crossed my mind, but I decided against it.

After Michael finished his cocoa, the two of us went back upstairs, arm-in-arm, to go back to bed. As I slid into bed next to my husband, I felt his arm around my shoulders as he whispered, "Do you need me to do anything for you, Marella? _Anything?"_

"You're doing it, love," I said as I relaxed in his arms, my head coming to rest on his chest. "But," I said as I looked up at him, "I'll keep that in mind, for future reference." I grinned suggestively at him.

"I'll hold you to that," Michael said, then added, "and, I'll hold you every night for the rest of our lives, if that's what you want."

I sighed contentedly. "That's exactly what I want, Michael...exactly what I want," I said as I snuggled against his body and closed my eyes. _I'll beat these nightmares,_ I said to myself as I wrapped my arm around my husband.

"Marella?" Michael asked, hesitantly.

"Yes, Michael?" I said, not having fallen asleep yet.

"Why were you so hesitant to tell me how you felt about me?" He asked, surprising me.

"Probably for the same reasons you didn't want to tell me how you felt, or Hawke didn't tell Caitlin how he felt for so long," I said, knowing Michael had been just as hesitant to discuss his personal feelings as I was. Which, when I thought about it, didn't surprise me—Michael had never been one to discuss personal feelings openly.

"Well," Michael said as he turned towards me, and I noticed a particular gleam coming into his good eye, "we could have been married long ago if you'd just told me—because I felt the same way about you."

"Now you tell me," I said, grinning as I reached for him.

"Marella...are you sure you're okay?" Michael asked, stopping me.

"Michael...I'm fine," I said, grinning suggestively. "Now, shut up, and..."

Then, I felt Michael's lips on mine again, and there was no more time—or ability—for either of us to speak.


	5. Chapter 5

_Nightmares, Chap. 5_

Disclaimer – As usual, don't own 'em...but I sure wish I did, because I'd still play with them.

A/N – This chapter is based off the series premiere (sometimes called _Shadow of a Hawke), _but set sometime after the third season opener, _Horn of Plenty. _This chapter concludes this little story arc...and I hope, even with the confusing spots, that you've enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it. Thanks to **Sirius7, Ms. Anonymous, OldSFfan, Riabhach, **and everybody else who's taken time to review this, and any of my other stories. I appreciate all your comments and feedback, and I hope you'll enjoy this final chapter. – robertwnielsen

_Summary – _Sometimes, the odds work in your favor...but sometimes, they don't.

_I really hate talking with senators...and Congressmen. But this guy, Senator William Dietz, is probably the most obnoxious, arrogant...so-and-so...that I've ever met. First, he complains about there not being any cream cheese for his bagel, _**then, **_when Marella brought him some, he complained that it was _**pink. **_Although now that I think about it...pink cream cheese _**is **_a little odd. But, as Senator Dietz said, "Only in California."_

We'd brought Senator Dietz to Red Star Control for this demonstration of Airwolf only because he was a very influential member of the Senate Armed Services and Appropriations Committees, and as such, would have enormous influence on our plans for the development and eventual deployment of Airwolf fleets, both the FIRM's and the Department of Defense's, after we turned this prototype over to them, to let _them_ take credit for its construction since, as Senator Dietz so accurately pointed out, Congress would not be very receptive to the knowledge that the FIRM had developed secret tactical weapons like Airwolf. _And I don't even want to _**think **_what the public outcry would be like,_ I said to myself, knowing that once Congress found out, it would be only a matter of time before the story leaked to the press, and the public outcry against the FIRM would be monumental. _Could even force us to shut down,_ I said to myself sadly, but I knew that if the Pentagon would take credit for Airwolf's development, public sentiment would be focused on _them,_ rather than _us._

"_Airwolf...Red Star Control...you have a 'GO,' _the mission communicator radioed, and immediately, Airwolf dropped off the radar screen. I knew that Charles Henry Moffet, the man who had built Airwolf and who was her mission commander, had dropped below our radar net to attempt to sneak into the target area, past a whole array of top-line Soviet equipment—guns, SAM's, radars, the works—and all manned by personnel who know how to use it. There was a very real chance, even with Airwolf's bulletproof armor, that she wouldn't survive this demonstration.

Senator Dietz finally asked me what the FIRM wanted in exchange for giving up the rights to the prototype. I told him simply, _"Reimbursement of development costs..._**and**_, the first five Airwolfs off the production line."_

"_Talk to me in dollars and cents," Senator Dietz snapped._

"_A billion dollars, Senator," I said, then added sarcastically, "give or take a few cents." _I have to admit, Sen. Dietz's expression was tremendously satisfying to me, for some strange reason.

Suddenly, our radar scope registered a large explosion—we knew that Airwolf had been targeted by one of the volley of SAM's that had been fired from the valley, but I had assumed that Moffet would be able to either evade, defeat, or destroy the missile before it impacted.

"_My God, they've blown him away," _Senator Dietz said, and I thought his voice sounded sorrowful.

I looked out over the horizon, then was relieved to hear a familiar howl. _"Not quite, Senator," _I said with a grin as Airwolf came back into view.

I wondered if Moffet had deliberately hidden from view for a moment—he does have a flair for the dramatic, after all—and I really didn't believe that a simple SA-10 SAM could have downed Airwolf all by itself. I glanced at my aide, Marella, and recalled listening to her describe all of Airwolf's capabilities, from her Mach-1 plus speed to the fourteen firepower options aboard. Something else was bothering me, though—Marella's expression when she finished, a warm, glowing smile, seemed directed as much to _me_ as it was to Senator Dietz. I wonder if..._no...that can't happen,_ I said to myself as I saw Senator Dietz grab a microphone to speak to Moffet.

"_Dr. Moffet, this is Senator Dietz. I want to congratulate you on the most spectacular weapons demo I've ever seen! I'd like to shake your hand!"_

"_You already have, Senator," _Moffet replied, his voice sounding strange to me,_ "on Project 'Proteus.'"_

"_Proteus?" _Senator Dietz asked, turning to Marella and me. _"That was at White Sands, in the '70s," _he continued, turning back towards the window, full of the view of Airwolf.

"_I trust the Senator remembers me,"_ Moffet said, and his tone of voice indicated, at least to me, that _he _remembered Senator Dietz, and that the memory was not at all a fond one. _Well, Moffet...you and I actually might have something in common,_ I said to myself as I heard Senator Dietz continue.

"_Well, that was...that was a long time ago," _Senator Dietz responded.

"_Yes, the FIRM has demonstrated great confidence in my ability to ah...to _**change,**_" _Moffet said, and I noticed the particular emphasis he put on the last word. I honestly didn't remember much about Project Proteus, since I was still a field agent, and not privy to higher management information like I am now as Deputy Director.

"_Well, I'm sure their trust is well-founded," _Senator Dietz replied. I couldn't help wondering if I'd heard what I thought I heard a moment ago—it sounded like whoever was in the Electronic Data Command Center was..._laughing_. _But that's got to be my imagination, _I said to myself.

I heard Moffet sigh. _"Not really," _he said. I looked out the window and noticed that Airwolf's chain guns and ADF pod were still deployed..._and, pointed right at us._ Just then, I heard the first 30mm rounds begin shattering the windows, as well as the first weapons impact from one of Airwolf's arsenal of missiles. Without thinking, I grabbed Marella's arms and pulled her close to me, even as I threw her down onto the floor, covering her body with my own.

As all hell broke loose around us, I felt slivers of glass penetrating my left eye, and I screamed in pain and agony, even as chunks of the ceiling fell and landed on not only me, but several other members of our team. I could hear the screams of the injured and the dying, but the pain in my legs and left eye was becoming too much for me...and I passed out.

I don't know how long I was unconscious, but when I came to, I found myself in a hospital room, and noticed something immediately—_my left eye. I...can't see out of my left eye._

I heard the door open and saw Dr. Robert Shaw, one of the top surgeons at the facility, entering.

"Michael," he said, noticing my expression. "I'm glad you're awake."

"How...bad?" I croaked, needing something to drink. Dr. Shaw quickly poured me a glass of water from a pitcher on a table next to my bed. I was asking not only about how badly _I _was hurt, but the general condition of Red Star...including the number of casualties.

"We...we weren't able to save your left eye, Michael," he said sorrowfully. "The damage to the optic nerve was...was just too great. We've patched it, and you'll be wearing that patch for the rest of your life. Also, your right leg suffered severe trauma...you'll have a permanent limp, and need to use a cane, from now on." He noticed my expression turn downcast, and said, "Michael...Archangel...it could have been a _lot worse."_

_This, I know,_ I said to myself. Then I realized I needed to know something. "Dr. Shaw...Marella. How..."

He hesitated, and I feared the worst. "Dr. Shaw...please," I said, my voice shaking. "I...I need to know."

"I'm...I'm sorry, Michael," Dr. Shaw said, shaking his head. "Marella had suffered several wounds from 30mm cannon fire...one of them punctured her aorta, and several more rounds landed in her skull before...before you were able to pull her down. She...she died on the operating table a few minutes ago," he finished, shaking his head. "I'm...I'm sorry."

I felt my spirits sinking at his words, but I knew I had to get some more information before I could grieve properly. "How...how many did we lose?"

"Twenty-seven dead, forty-five injured, including yourself," he replied, and I covered my head in my hands at the loss of life, knowing that I'd have to write letters to the families of each of the casualties, and knowing that my letter to Marella's family would be the hardest letter I've ever written—and not just because she was my number one aide, but because..._I love...that is...I _**loved **_her._

Getting control of my emotions, I stammered, "Th-thank you, Dr. Shaw. Could you...?"

"I'll be back in a few minutes, Michael," Dr. Shaw said, nodding understandingly as he left the room.

As soon as I heard the door click shut behind Dr. Shaw, I did something that I haven't done for a long time—I began to cry.

I don't know how long I let the tears fall down my face...tears not only for myself, for the injuries I'd suffered, but for all the families who had lost loved ones...and most importantly, for Marella. I tried to force the vision of her beautiful face out of my mind...but I couldn't. All I could do now was think of the wasted opportunity—I already knew I loved her...I've known that practically since the day she joined my staff, but, I'd always been afraid to tell her how I felt...now, thanks to that sonofabitch Moffet and the two bastard traitors with him, I'd never get that chance. But I also needed to figure out a way to try to recover Airwolf, and if possible, bring Moffet and his two traitorous accomplices back to stand trial. _And I know just the man for the job,_ I said to myself.

_Hawke,_ I said to myself as I remembered the test pilot for the Airwolf program—a reclusive, sensitive loner named Stringfellow Hawke. He'd worked with us before, and had risen to the level of number one pilot, which is how he wound up as Airwolf's prime test pilot, before Moffet muscled his way in, saying that as Airwolf's creator, _he _should be the primary test pilot. Reluctantly, I had informed Hawke of Moffet's declaration, and that the Committee, including Zeus, had voted to remove Hawke as prime pilot—however, I made sure he understood that I had been the lone dissenting voice.

Now, I knew I'd have to get in touch with Hawke, to attempt to recover Airwolf and bring the three crewmembers back to face trial—especially Moffet. The other two weren't as important, since they most likely weren't even involved in the attack, other than the officer in the EDCC, but Moffet...I wanted to make that traitorous bastard suffer for the twenty-seven people he so callously murdered.

_I'd be lucky if Hawke doesn't kill him first,_ I said to myself, knowing that some of the people killed at Red Star had been Hawke's friends, then added, _but if Hawke doesn't...then...I will._ Just then, I heard the door to my room open again, and to my horror, Moffet was standing there in the doorway. I moved to lunge at him, prepared to throttle him for all the death and destruction he'd caused, then I saw him pull out his revolver, cock it, aim it at my head...and then—I sat bolt upright in bed, stifling a scream from escaping my lips. Looking around, I realized I was back home, in the bedroom I shared with—

_Marella._ I said to myself, looking down at the sleeping form of my wife. Surprisingly, my waking up hadn't disturbed her, and I gently stroked her hair, reveling in the knowledge that she was alive...alive, and next to me, where she belonged. _A nightmare,_ I said to myself, remembering Marella's nightmare of a few weeks earlier, and of course, the nightmares that Caitlin and Stringfellow Hawke, along with Dominic Santini, had all suffered. Of course, in reality, I admitted that I loved Marella shortly after the incident at Red Star, and we got married shortly after Hawke rescued me from East Germany.

_If I hadn't known better, I'd swear someone _**wanted **_us to have these nightmares,_ I said to myself, knowing that I was thinking of something that sounded like the plot of a Tom Clancy novel. Silently, I climbed out of bed and put my robe on, headed for the kitchen to make some hot cocoa—I figured Marella would be along soon enough.

Five minutes later, I felt a familiar pair of arms wrap around me from behind. "Michael? Are you..."

"No, Marella," I said, turning in her arms. "Tonight was...was my turn," I said sheepishly, as I took the cocoa off the stove and fixed cups for both of us.

"Your turn?" Marella asked, taking her cup of cocoa and sitting down at the kitchen table, even as I took the chair next to her with my cup. "You mean..."

"Yes, Marella," I replied. "I had a...nightmare about...Red Star."

"Red Star? Why on earth would you have"—Marella started to ask me, then her voice trailed off, and I knew she was thinking something similar to what I was.

"Marella," I began, stroking her hand, "in my nightmare, just like in yours a few weeks ago...we didn't know how we felt about each other. But it was the day Senator Dietz was at Red Star for the weapons demo with Airwolf. He had his talk with Moffet, then..." I couldn't finish my sentence, but Marella picked up the narration for me.

"Then, Moffet opened fire on the base," she said, smiling at me, "and you...you dove on top of me to protect me from the falling debris, and from the weapons fire." I knew by the look in her eyes that, if Marella didn't love me before that day, that had been the day when she started.

"Yes," I said, feeling more confident in my voice, "only...in the nightmare, when I woke up in the hospital room, Dr. Shaw told me that you...you didn't make it. And...and I never got a chance to tell you how I felt...how I _feel_...about you," I finished.

"Michael," she began, "I know how you feel about me," she continued, and I noticed a particular gleam coming into her eyes. "And we know how we feel about _each other. _And...just in case we forget...we're going to have a little reminder of just how we feel about each other...very soon," she said, smiling at me with that special smile that a woman saves for her husband.

I wasn't sure what Marella meant, but suddenly something clicked in my mind. "You mean you're...you're going to have...and that means that...I'm going to be..."

"Yes, Michael," Marella said, grinning at my apparent inability to string together a complete sentence. "I went to the doctor about a month after _my _nightmare, because I thought I was..._late..._and they did a test...and...let's just say that Stringfellow and Caitlin's child is going to have a little playmate," she finished, and squeezed my hands, then added, "Eight weeks, Michael. I'm eight weeks pregnant." Her glow just then could have lit up the entire house. I did the arithmetic, remembering that it had been about two months since Marella had her nightmare, and realized – _The night Marella had her nightmare...that must have been the night that our baby was conceived._ I was stunned at the realization, but also realized that at least we'd have a pleasant memory of that night.

"I...I can't believe this," I stammered as I tried to wrap my head around the idea that I was going to be a father, just like Stringfellow. "We're going to have...a _baby_," I said, reaching over to Marella and pulling her out of her chair, depositing her in my lap, where one hand automatically went to her belly, where our child..._our _**child,** I said to myself, was growing.

"Yes, Michael," Marella responded sweetly, as her hand came to rest on top of mine, "we're having a baby." She leaned in and kissed me, a deep, passionate kiss that carried all the love she felt for me, and I hoped she felt the love I had for her in my response.

"Well," I said when we had separated and I felt like I could construct a complete sentence, "I certainly hope that this is the last of the nightmares for this little group. But," I said, gazing lovingly into Marella's eyes with my good one, "at least we'll have something positive to remember about this time."

"Yes, my love," Marella murmured, and I could hear the fatigue in her voice again, so without another word, I scooped her up in my arms and carried her back to the bedroom, where we exchanged one final passionate embrace before we went back to sleep. _Now that the nightmares have come full circle,_ I said to myself as I pulled Marella's body tight against mine, _I certainly hope we can get back to a normal life...whatever the hell that is._ I placed one final, gentle kiss on the top of Marella's head as I felt sleep take hold of me again and said to myself, _Thank you, Marella Coldsmith-Briggs...for everything._


	6. Chapter 6

_Nightmares, Chap. 6_

Disclaimer – As usual, don't own 'em...but I sure wish I did, because I'd still play with them.

A/N – Little Christmas present for my readers. Due to comments I received in a review (and you know who you are), I've decided to create one final chapter to close out this little story arc. Thanks to **Sirius7, Ms. Anonymous, OldSFfan, Riabhach, **and everybody else who's taken time to review this, and any of my other stories. I appreciate all your comments and feedback, and I hope you'll enjoy this final chapter. – robertwnielsen

_Summary – _Sometimes, the odds work in your favor...but sometimes, they don't.

**Knightsbridge**

_This just doesn't add up,_ Archangel said to himself as he considered the recent string of nightmares that had befallen every member of the Airwolf team, most recently himself. _If it had just stopped with Caitlin and Hawke, I would have said it was just because they were worried about the baby...and actually, I _**did **_say that. But when Dom had his nightmare...and then Marella and I had them, I realized it couldn't be a coincidence._

"Michael?" Marella Coldsmith-Briggs, Archangel's wife, asked as she walked into the office. "Where were you just now? You looked like you were a million miles away."

"Just...just thinking, Marella," Michael said, bringing himself out of his reverie. "Don't you think this was all...too much of a coincidence?"

"What, exactly?" Marella inquired.

"All of us...having nightmares so close together. If it had just been Caitlin and Hawke, I would have said it was because they were worried about becoming parents...but then when the rest of us had them...if I didn't know better, I'd think someone _wanted_ us to have these nightmares," Michael answered his wife.

"Who? And why?" Marella asked, coming over to Michael's desk and taking a chair next to him.

"Those, my dear, are the $64 million questions," Michael said with a grim smile, "but unfortunately, I haven't got the answer to either one...although I do have my suspicions," he added, then wondered if he'd said too much.

"You do?" Marella asked, astounded. "Well, please don't keep me in suspense, Michael. Who do you think might have done this...if these nightmares were something deliberate, and not just a series of coincidences?"

"Horn," Michael said, almost venomously spitting out the name. "John Bradford Horn."

**The Cabin**

"_John Bradford Horn?" _Caitlin Hawke demanded, unaware that Archangel had uttered the same words a few moments prior. "You think _he's_ behind our nightmares, Hawke? Doesn't that sound like..."

"Like something out of a Tom Clancy novel, yeah," Stringfellow Hawke replied as he and Caitlin sat in the living room of the cabin talking about the nightmares that they had all faced. "Not that I've actually read any Tom Clancy novels, but I've heard about them...and I think Michael likes them."

"Why am I _not _surprised?" Caitlin responded, her familiar impish grin crossing her face. "One spy enjoying the adventures of a fictional spy...makes perfect sense to me. But what makes you think Horn had anything to do with these nightmares, Hawke?"

"Mostly the fact that each nightmare was centered around Airwolf...and something happening to someone we love," Hawke said, and suppressed a shudder at the memory of his nightmare, when he and Dom weren't able to disarm the bombs that Ken Sawyer had planted—one, aboard Airwolf, and the other strapped around Caitlin, who Sawyer was holding prisoner as bait for Hawke. In reality, of course, Airwolf had only jammed the firing mechanism with three seconds to spare.

"I...I guess I can understand that, String," Caitlin replied, suppressing the memory of her own nightmare, when Hawke didn't wake up after she injected him with the experimental serum Michael had given her, and Hawke had died in her arms at Horn's compound. "But...why would he do something like that?" _And is that bitch of a daughter of his involved in any way,_ Caitlin asked herself, remembering how she had called "dibs" on Angelica after they rescued String from Horn. _If she had anything to do with this, I swear...I'll tear that bitch limb from limb,_ Caitlin added.

"Caitlin," Hawke said, recognizing his wife's expression, "I don't know if Angelica had anything to do with this...if what I'm thinking is even true...but you're not going to be involved in any way, shape, or form if it is," Hawke said, sliding his hand over her belly. "Not with this guy due to make an entrance any day now."

"String," Caitlin said, and Hawke saw the fire in her eyes, but noticed that it seemed to lessen after a few moments. "I...I guess you're right. Just...do me a favor, okay? If...if this _was_ Horn, and Angelica was involved, be careful, okay? I don't...I don't want to lose you," she said, then added, "especially now."

As he pulled her close to him, String replied, "I know, Caitlin. I know. Dom, Michael, Marella and me...we'll do the best we can. We always do." He smiled just before he kissed his wife.

**Knightsbridge**

"Hawke. How's Caitlin doing?" Michael asked a few days later, when he called String and Dom to his office at Knightsbridge.

"Worried, like we all are," String replied.

"You mean about Horn?" Archangel asked, and String glanced at Dom with an expression of shock, wondering how Michael could have come to the same conclusion that he had, considering they hadn't spoken in several days.

"How...how did you know what I was thinking, Michael?" Hawke asked, surprised.

"One, because I know you...and Cait...and two, because of..._this,_" Michael said, throwing a folder down in front of Hawke. Hawke picked it up and opened it, scanning the reports inside.

"What does all this mean, Michael? I don't speak medicalese," Hawke asked, confused.

"Basically," Marella responded, knowing this was her territory, "we've all been drugged."

"_DRUGGED?"_ Hawke and Dom asked at the same time.

"Yes, Hawke, Dom," Marella responded. "Someone in the FIRM commissary had been slipping a highly concentrated hallucinogenic into the coffee at different times over the past few months. Very clever, if I might say so. It all came from the same machine, right..._here,_" she said as they glanced at a blueprint of the commissary, and Marella pointed to a specific coffee machine.

"Was anyone else affected?" String demanded.

"Yes," Archangel replied, shaking his head. "Four other employees have reported similar symptoms to ours...one of them was Laura," Michael continued, referring to his prime pilot. "She had a nightmare just the other day that she, Marella and I went down in a helicopter crash...that's what tipped me off that this was not a random act."

"Michael," Hawke asked, suddenly worried for another reason. "Could...could the drugs have any effect on..."

"No, Hawke," Marella replied, knowing what Hawke was asking. "Your and Caitlin's baby won't be harmed...the drugs were far too short-acting to have any effect on the baby's brain. The only ones who were affected were those of us who used that coffee machine," she added. "Even though Caitlin did get coffee from there the night she had her nightmare, and when she had the other nightmares you told me about, my professors assured me that the drugs wouldn't harm your baby," Marella added, and Hawke found himself relieved that for Marella's sixth doctorate, she had decided to become, as Dom once put it, a _"doctor, doctor." _

Marella went on. "And...there's another reason I wanted to find out whether your baby would be hurt by the drugs...I also needed to know whether or not the drugs would hurt..._our baby,"_ Marella said, glancing over to Michael, ignoring the stunned expression on Hawke's face.

"You mean...you're pregnant, too?" Hawke asked, stunned.

Smiling, Marella took Michael's hand and said, "Yes, Hawke...I'm eight weeks pregnant." String and Dom both gave Marella a congratulatory hug, then shook hands with Michael.

"How the hell did this happen, Michael?" Hawke demanded, quickly changing the subject back to Horn and what was going on with all of them.

"Seems that there was a new supplier added the week before Caitlin had her first nightmare...and, we were able to directly link them with John Bradford Horn," Michael admitted, and saw Hawke nodding.

"Caitlin and I had the same feeling," Hawke answered, and Michael and Marella could both see the relief in Hawke's eyes that his child would not be harmed. "After all, Horn's had it in for Dom, Cait and me ever since he kidnapped me that first time...but, why would he be after you and Marella?"

"Because of our involvement with you, Hawke," Michael answered. "Horn wanted to destroy not only you, but anyone else connected with you, especially anyone who might tip you off as to what was happening. We also believe Angelica's involved," Michael continued, noticing Hawke's expression at the news that Horn's daughter was involved in not only attempting to hurt him, but Caitlin as well.

"Michael," Hawke said, and Archangel recognized the steel in Hawke's ice-blue eyes, "Horn is a dead man walking." _All the same,_ Hawke said to himself, _now I understand why Horn went after Michael and Marella—he didn't want Marella informing me, Dom, or Caitlin about what was happening to us._

"I understand, Hawke," Michael said, then added, "but be careful."

"Don't worry, Michael," Dom added, having been strangely silent through this whole conversation, "_we_ will." Hawke and Dominic left Michael's office quickly, headed back out to the Santini Air Jeep.

"Where to, String?" Dom asked.

"Where do you think?" Hawke growled. "We're goin' hunting."

"I was hoping you'd say that," Dom said as he started up the Jeep and they headed to the Lair.

"Cait's gonna be really mad," Dom said later as they began climbing out of the chimney. "You remember what she said."

"Yeah, Dom, I do remember," String replied from the commander's chair. "And that's why we're doing this alone. I can't risk her...and the baby." String said, and Dom noticed a waver in his friend's voice.

"Just...just be careful, String," Dom said as he turned his glance to Airwolf's engineering console. "Cait wants us both back in one piece...and I'd kinda like to stay away from the hospital for a few years." _Or anyplace else,_ Dom added quietly.

"Me too, Dom, me too."

They flew on in silence for several hours until Hawke heard the high-pitched squeal that indicated a scrambled message was coming in. Dom quickly turned on the descrambler, and neither man was surprised to hear Archangel's booming voice.

"Hawke. I don't need to guess what you're doing, do I?"

"No, Michael, you don't," Hawke replied.

"I thought as much. I would ask where you are, but something tells me I already know...and that I don't want to know where you're going. By the way, I sent Marella up to the cabin to be with Caitlin. I...I thought..."

"Thank you, Michael," Hawke said. "I know Cait's worried sick about us...and I didn't want her along on this mission."

"I understand, Hawke," Michael said. "I have some information here...it seems that the Horns are holed up in Spahn Ranch...Manson's old compound. I'm transmitting coordinates now."

"Got it," Dom said from the engineering console. "Makes sense, doesn't it, String? Horn's as crazy as Manson...maybe worse."

"Yeah," Hawke said angrily.

"Can I do anything else for you, Hawke? Alert Zebra Squad, perhaps?" Michael asked, referring to the FIRM's specialized assassination team.

"Don't think that'll be necessary, Michael," Hawke replied. "There won't be enough left of Horn or his daughter for Zebra Squad when we get through with them."

"I figured as much, Hawke," Michael replied. "Good luck," he added, then the radio went silent. Dom caught himself before he said, _"How come Archangel's 'good luck' always sounds like '_**goodbye?', **the way he had on a previous mission.

"Turbos!" Hawke called out.

"Turbos," Dom responded, shoving the throttles to the stops. Two seconds later, he felt the powerful turbines engage as Airwolf rocketed toward her rendezvous with destiny.

"Trouble, String," Dom said a few hours later when the radar picked up incoming bogies.

"How many?" Hawke demanded, having heard the scanner kick in.

"Four. The readout says three F-16's and one F-4 Phantom...all armed with Sidewinders and Sparrows...plus, full 20mm cannon. Hey, look out, rocket coming in!"

"Sunburst!"

"Sunburst," Dom echoed, punching one of the powerful decoys out and watching with satisfaction as the Sidewinder was pulled in and detonated.

"Weapons to combat mode," Hawke ordered.

"Combat mode," Dom confirmed, punching the buttons to deploy Airwolf's chain guns and ADF pod. Hawke quickly dropped the visor on his helmet and dispatched the first F-16 with a Sidewinder shot.

"String...rocket, 3 o'clock!" Dom hollered.

"Turbos! Gimme a Sunburst," Hawke replied.

"Sunburst...kicking in the turbos," Dom responded, punching the release button at the same time he threw the turbo ignition lever hard against the stops.

"Range one mile," Dom called out, just as Hawke launched a Hellfire missile, and the two rockets destroyed each other a short distance away.

"Where are they, Dom?" Hawke called out.

"Two Falcons at four o'clock," Dom replied, and Hawke turned Airwolf so they faced the threat. Two quick presses of the firing button launched two more Sidewinders at the oncoming jets, and they exploded a short time later.

"Phantom coming, six o'clock high!" Dom warned, then added, "String? What the heck are you doing? You're slowing down!"

"Oldest trick in the book, Dom," Hawke replied. "I'm gonna hit the brakes, he'll fly right by."

"Range, one-half mile," Dom reported.

"_Reverse turbos, NOW!"_ Hawke shouted, and Dom threw the appropriate switch. A few seconds later, Hawke fired the 30mm chain guns and watched the Phantom explode in a ball of fire.

"That was almost...too easy, Dom," Hawke said, shaking his head.

"_Very perceptive, Mr. Hawke,"_ a voice came over their radios.

"Horn," Hawke spat, the venom obvious in his voice.

"_Perceptive again,"_ Horn said, and Hawke was reminded of Ken Sawyer saying the same thing. _"I was wondering how long it would take you to figure out what Angelica and I were up to."_

"So, we were right," Hawke said, as Dom tried to track the source of the signal. "It was you."

"_Not just Daddy, Hawke," _Angelica's voice taunted them. _"I wanted to make that little bitch that helped you escape suffer too...has she gone crazy yet, Hawke? Have _**you?"**

"Angelica, I've dealt with worse than you...or your father," Hawke said. "And we figured out your little game before you were able to affect us with enough nightmares to make us crazy...so give it up. Put that machine on the ground..._now. _Or else _I'll do it for you. _Where are you?"

"_Right..._**here,**_ Mr. Hawke," _Horn replied, as Dom shouted, "Rocket coming in, two o'clock!"

"Sunburst!"

Dom punched the button, then String noticed something. "It didn't take that Sunburst!"

"It's a _sniffer!_" Dom realized, horrified.

"Hellfire, _now!"_ String commanded, and prayed as he launched the missile that it would intercept Horn's rocket before it hit. A small explosion a few seconds later confirmed that the missiles had destroyed each other.

"Where is he, Dom?" Hawke demanded.

"Three miles, seven o'clock low," Dom reported.

"Horn, you know what this machine can do...you can't win," Hawke said over the radio, as he felt 30mm cannon fire pelting Airwolf. "So I'm giving you a choice...land that thing _now,_ while I'm still in the mood to let you!"

"Got him, String," Dom said. "It's a Tu-36 Dodger...just like Qaddafi had." Hawke remembered seeing one of the Soviet-built helicopters when he and Dom had gone into Libya after Moffet and Airwolf. "Be careful, buddy...those cannons are loaded for bear."

"Right, Dom," Hawke replied as he fired a Sidewinder at the approaching gunship, which Horn efficiently evaded. A few seconds later, Dom called out, "Rocket coming!"

"Sunburst!"

"Sunburst," Dom replied, and this time the powerful decoy worked, drawing the rocket away from Airwolf.

"Great shootin', hotshot," Hawke taunted over the radio, "You just killed that mountain."

"_Very funny, Hawke," _Horn replied as he loosed another barrage of 30mm cannon fire against Airwolf. Angelica's voice rang in Hawke's ears again. _"Hawke, why did you leave us? Leave _**me?**_ Especially for that...that little _**mouse?" **Hawke gritted his teeth at Angelica's insult to his wife. _"You don't know what you denied yourself, Hawke," _Angelica continued, even as Hawke evaded another missile launched from Horn's helicopter.

"Where are they, Dom?" String demanded.

"Twelve o'clock, three miles," Dom replied.

"Gimme a Hellfire," Hawke ordered, then said, "See you both in hell," as the missile lock-on tone warbled in his ears and he touched the firing button. A few seconds later, the Tu-36 exploded in a satisfying ball of fire.

"Gimme the Copperheads, Dom," Hawke ordered, turning Airwolf towards Spahn Ranch.

"Copperheads standing by," Dom replied. String calmly squeezed the trigger three times, launching three missiles towards the compound, and was rewarded when the complex erupted in a ball of fire. Hawke calmly reached up and deactivated his targeting visor, then said, "Let's go home, Dom. It's over." Calmly, he turned Airwolf away from the carnage and headed back towards home.

"String? We got a radio message comin' in," Dom said a few minutes later as he turned on the descrambler.

"_Hawke? This is Marella."_

"_Marella? _What's going on? Where are you? Is something wrong with Caitlin?"

"_Caitlin went into labor fifteen minutes ago, Hawke,_" Marella replied. "We're on our way to the clinic now...we'll be there in five minutes."

"_String," _Caitlin's voice sounded clear and strong over the radio, _"I'm okay. Just...just waiting for you."_

"I'm on my way, Caitlin," Hawke replied, and turned Airwolf towards the clinic.

An hour later, Hawke walked into the delivery room just as another contraction hit his wife. When he heard the primal scream coming from Caitlin, Hawke was startled at first – never, even in all his time in Vietnam, had he _ever_ heard a sound like that. Then he was at her side, trying to help her through the pain, even as he looked up and saw Marella standing there.

"Thank you, Marella," Hawke said as he felt Caitlin grab his hand.

"My pleasure, Hawke," Marella replied, smiling, as she walked out of the room.

"Hawke," Caitlin gasped as she felt another contraction coming on, "I'm...I'm glad you made it...but I swear...don't you _ever touch me again!"_

"Caitlin," the doctor coached her, "it's time. Bear down and _push!" _She grabbed Hawke's hand and squeezed it for all she was worth as she tried to weather the pain of this latest contraction. Just when she thought she was about to pass out, she heard it...the cry of their son.

"Okay, Caitlin," the doctor said as she looked up, "you can relax. The baby's out, and everything looks...and _sounds..._just fine." The doctor smiled beneath her mask as she began the stitch, and after Hawke cut the umbilical cord, a nurse took the baby to clean him up.

A few minutes later, Caitlin was relaxing and holding her son as String hovered over them, appearing every bit the proud father. A soft knock at the door brought him out of his reverie and he said, "Come on in," as the door opened and Dom, Michael and Marella walked in.

"Caitlin," Marella said, looking at their son, "he's beautiful. He's got Hawke's eyes, I think."

"Yeah," Caitlin said as she gazed into the originals, "I think so, too." Her smile just then could have lit up the hospital room for the next three days.

"What did you decide for a name?" Dom wanted to know.

"Jimmy," Hawke replied, remembering his friend who Caitlin had told him was dead. "Jimmy Saint John Hawke." Dom smiled at the inclusion of String's older brother's name.

"I like it, String," Dom said, smiling. "Since Jimmy was the reason Cait came back into your life...and into mine...after Pope County."

"Yeah," String said as he smiled at his wife and son. "It just..._felt _right."

Several hours later, after Michael, Dom and Marella had gone, it was just the three of them alone again.

"Hawke?" Caitlin began, unsure of herself. "About...what I said before...I hope you know I didn't mean it...about you _never _touching me again."

Hawke smiled and answered, "I was hoping that was just the labor pains talking, Cait...I couldn't bear the thought of _never _touching you again...you know that, right?"

"Yeah, Hawke," Cait murmured as she gazed at their son, "I know." Then she added, "She's dead, isn't she?" String knew without asking that Caitlin was asking about Angelica.

"Yeah, she's dead," Hawke replied. "She and her father were after me and Dom in the Lady—but they got too close to one of our Hellfires," he continued, noticing his wife's reaction. "I know you said you had dibs on her, Cait—sorry I had to take her out before you got a chance to."

"I know, String," Caitlin sighed, relieved that it was finally over. "By the way," she said, looking into his eyes again, "Thank you, String."

"For what, Cait?" Hawke asked.

"For making me the happiest woman in the world..._again..._and making me a mommy. Most of all," she smiled at her son, then at Hawke, and Hawke saw the tears in her eyes, "thank you for coming back to me."

"You're welcome, Caitlin...and I should be thanking _you..._for making me a daddy," Hawke said, smiling at his wife and son. "I know how much you went through carrying Jimmy these past nine months...but seeing him makes it all seem worth it."

"It does, String," Caitlin replied. "Believe me, it does." Caitlin turned and smiled at Hawke, that special smile that she saved only for her husband. Hawke responded with a gentle kiss for his wife, even as he knew she was falling asleep. He quickly called for the nurse to come and take Jimmy, then he kicked off his shoes and lay down next to his wife in the small hospital bed, and felt Caitlin automatically snuggle into his arms. _I don't know what the future holds for us_, Hawke said to himself as he felt the events of the day finally catching up with him and sleep overtaking him, _but we'll face it, together._ He finally closed his eyes and surrendered to sleep, as he pondered the future.


End file.
